Would supporting Ron Paul be a good strategy for Democrats for the 2012 primaries?

Democrats who think that Obama can run against a “sacrificial Republican” should think back to twenty years ago when some nobody that no one had ever heard of (a hillbilly governor of Arkansas, for God’s sake!) was the sacrificial Democratic candidate “who could never win” against the seemingly invincible (Hero of the Persian Gulf War, with approval ratings through the roof) ... George H. W. Bush.

We all know what happened then, don’t we?

Do Dems think he can win against a Billionaire Republican whose old company owns a media conglomerate?
We didnt have Citizens United, SuperPACs, or hackable electronic voting machines back then either…

Good question. @chris6137 and @CWOTUS bring up good points but I think that points more towards caution rather than it being a bad strategy. I think the biggest fear is that if it ever got out that they were doing this, it would look horrible.

@chris6137 If there was a time that Ron Paul could beat the Republican field, this would be it. The best candidates they have are Romney and Bachmann…. a mormon and a nut job. Bachmann will never win a general election, and Romney is going to have a hard time getting the base out in droves. Paul has an increased base of support among conservatives (and liberals for that matter), but I still doubt he wins the primary, even with some kind of heavy backing.

Could Paul beat Obama? maybe. His problem would be that he would turn away a lot of the heavy conservatives for his views on things like the war and military spending. Liberals may like some of his ideas, but then they are totally in disagreement with a lot of his other ones.

As it stands right now I don’t think Paul has a chance at winning the primary, and even if he did I don’t think he’d stand a snowball’s chance in hell vs Obama in the general election.

and @CWOTUS That may be true, but keep in mind another famous story. Reagan had piss poor favorability ratings and the economy in the US was in the crapper…. until October of 83 when the economy gained like 1.2 million jobs in a month. It single handedly saved his presidency.

Obama will need early Democratic support to get momentum for the general election.

I think that you might be surprised at how much support Ron Paul would have among the more Libertarian leaning Republicans, and you might be equally surprised at how many of those there are.

It is my opinion that the Republicans pretty much have this one in the bag provided they don’t do something excessively stupid like try to use the disillusionment with the Obama administration to push a candidate that comes with the additional right wing social agenda baggage. Alas, never underestimate the ability of political parties to make inane decisions.

Supporting Ron Paul is a good strategy for everyone, not just Dems.

How do you propose democrats “support” Ron Paul in the primaries? There’s no mechanism for them to do so unless they live in a state with open primaries, openly and publicly support the opposition’s candidate, or engage in some sort of underhanded, covert support of Paul.

Or they could just vote for him.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies – If it weren’t for his more peculiar religious and conservative leanings, I’d vote for Ron Paul. Unfortunately, he’s still too republican for me.

I’d vote for Ron Paul, as would MANY of the guys on a gun forum I’m part of. The government should do NO more than necessary to protect our country from foreign invaders and that’s it. Our constitutional rights are infringed upon every day, and I think someone like Ron Paul will help us take a few steps toward the way we need to go. I tend to agree with alot of his libertarian stated beliefs.

I hope the dems get him in, and then I hope he gets the presidency on the same basis Obama got it, because people are willing to try something different to get change.

@mrrich724 The problem is the majority of the population disagrees with that sentiment. I mean ok a lot of Conservatives/Republicans want the government involved a lot less than they are now, but I would guess over 90% of the population wants the government involved beyond simply protecting the country.

On that platform, Ron Paul will never be elected president.

@mrrich724 – He is currently a contender for the Republican nomination. Perhaps you and your gun buddies should consider voting in the primaries.

As for me, I have never before voted in a primary because I value my status as an independent. However, I might make an exception this time around.

@tedd

To paraphrase my sainted mother, “If every one of your friends wanted to abrogate the Constitution, would you also think it was a good idea?” Her lessons in this regard re: “jumping off bridges” took root with me. I don’t think it’s a good idea.

@CWOTUS ”“If every one of your friends wanted to abrogate the Constitution, would you also think it was a good idea?”

I’d have to at least consider it. In the face of overwhelming opinion contrary to my own, I’d need to wonder…

@roundsquare

Really. So you’d jump off the bridge if all of your friends thought it was a great idea? Mom would have whacked you into next Monday.

@CWOTUS Common man, that’s not what I wrote. I wrote: “I’d have to at least consider it.”

If all my friends were jumping off a bridge, I’d need to ask what happens when you jump off this bridge? I don’t know enough people who take crazy stupid chances for no possible gain like that so I’d wonder why they were doing it. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a realistic good reason why they would be jumping off a bridge, but that’s because the situation is so unrealistic to begin with.